My 'demo unit' Tisbury pre is free again - anyone want to try it? :)
Printable View
My 'demo unit' Tisbury pre is free again - anyone want to try it? :)
pm sent
Hi Phil - sorry - someone beat you to it.
Join the queue - you can be next. :)
Excellent little preamp.
Totally agree, plenty of detail and transparency and very musical.
Amazing value for money.
Thanks for the loan Jerry :thumbsup:
I enjoyed my time with the Tizzie (thanks Jerry ;)) but I have now moved on to something rather special which is even more of a bargain. One slight criticism I have of the Tisbury is that it is so small and light, if you happen to use thick, less pliable IC's there is a tendency for the tail to wag the dog...
Yep, not all passive pre's are born equal by any means.
I really like the Tiz; yes, you can get a bit more transparency and rez (although the Tizzie is very good) but there's a natural musical flow and feeling of communication and involvement to it that most others seem to miss out on.
I'll get mine back one of these days, it'll be nice to try it again! :)
-- if you're ever away for a few days, Dave (synsei), I wouldn't mind a go with your BTE as well! ;)
Plugging her in this morning, yes, agree with Dave, she is a lot smaller than expected.
Thanks for the loan Jerry.
Nigel
Don't get me wrong Jerry I rate the Tizzie's performance very highly and besides, if it hadn't been for your generosity in lending it to me I might not have discovered just how well the 306 works with a passive pre and for that I am in your debt :youtheman: Anyone who owns a Quad 306, 606 or any of the later power amps in this range owes it to themselves to audition a passive pre in their system, you won't regret it ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
I would be delighted to lend you the BTE Jerry however the likelihood of me being away from home for any length of time in the near to mid future is very slim indeed and the BTE is the only pre-amp I own just now, however if you have a small, spare pre-amp sulking in a far flung corner that you can do without for the duration then I'd be more than happy to do an exchange so you can trial it ;)
Works very well with a 405-2 as well.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps1d2445db.jpg
Excellent Roy. To solve the 'tail wagging the dog' problem I ended up sticking it to a rack shelf with double-sided tape... :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
It is a nice little unit. They really should do an R/C version, in a bigger box, with maybe more input options. It'd sell, I reckon. Those features are worth paying for.
Thanks for that, Dave. :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
Maybe I'll have the Tizzie sent back to you for a few days! :)
Wow,
This little babe sounds very good, I want one.
more to follow.
Nigel
Nigel will soon be letting the 'loaner' go - anyone else here fancy a try with it? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by vinylspinner
Is a loan of this little unit still available Jerry, I'd love to give it a go with my 306 :)
Too late, Pete - I've just sold it! http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...assive-pre-ampQuote:
Originally Posted by orbscure
I thought it might be the same unit Jerry... thanks for the swift response nonetheless :)
very nicely made and incredibly small . well worth trying
Jerry if it was soo good what have you replaced it with ? I have a friend who is looking for a passive pre and would be interested :)
Ive got one too, but not actually tried it yet. Bought it on a whim tbh, but may use it as a rather nice switch box between my 2 turntables when the 160 is ready. A lovely little unit, although may be overkill as a switchbox:eyebrows:
Things come and go at Jerry Towers. ;) I just like to try different things.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninanina
Currently, I have 2 integrated amps (1 ss, 1 valve - see my siggie below) and another integrated (Virtue Audio class D) is about to arrive. And I have a fab active pre (a Restek) that does some dynamic and other stuff that passives don't while achieving very high levels of clarity for when the next power amp is selected.
But yep, the little Tiz is a great sounding unit, imo. It doesn't quite have the sheer transparency of a good stepped attenuator passive, but it also lacks the tonal starkness that can appear in some systems with passive preamps. I compared it directly with a stepped Glasshouse No. 1 passive pre, and I actually preferred the Tizzie. It was just nicer to listen to.
But I hadn't used it for a while and my kind and generous offer of loaning it out hadn't been taken up since the beginning of the year, so a little bit of shelf space has now been cleared. :)
Has the Sensation arrived yet Jerry?:)
Just won a Tissy on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tisbury-Au...vip=true&rt=nc
I'm going to use it as part of a 'summer system' to reduce the heat from valves in my set-up, during this really hot spell of weather we're having. It'll be interesting to hear how it performs! :)
Marco.
Good little boxes those
Hopefully, dude! :cool:
Marco.
Yeah they are OK. Had Jerry's in my system and heard it in is.
Alright provided you don't need any active gain obviously. In which case they are NOT OK.
I think I'll be all right on the gain score.
It's mainly for piping some choons out into the garden (via the RPi and Copper amp) and into some Celestion Ditton 15XRs, while we're entertaining friends... The music room where all the kit is, with the current weather, gets like a bloody oven, what with both the Croft and Copper amp using loads of valves.
The Tissy will help sort that out and hopefully provide acceptable sound quality in that application :)
Marco.
I don't think you'll find it 'sounds' at all Marco, although I would recommend 'personally' that you keep the interconnects within a couple of metres.
I use a little home made three-input/one output passive preamp and it's incredibly good with amps that I thought should have an active preamp stage driving them. So much so that the HH MOS-FET amp I was given with the LS5/9's has taken on a whole extra layer of delicacy and increased 'emotional connection' that it lacked before with the old AVI preamp driving it (in fairness to the AVI, it prefers several metres of mic cable to remote amps...).
I mention my home-made jobbie because I recently replaced the perfectly worthy 47k pots I was using with the same ones Tisbury use, but in 50k (I had to go on eBay US to find them, but the seller was only too happy to send me a pair to the UK for well under £20). I've since discovered that 10k is fine as well, by the way. No sonic difference between the Chinese attenuators and the film-pots I was using before, but I like the tracking on the first two notches of the attenuators ;)
Something else, if I may be so bold ('course I am). So many active preamps over the years have been a real bane in the life of 'High Fidelity Audio' in my opinion and experience, the colourations and/or veiling of detail they add to the recipe being quite severe in some revered US models I remember. As far as I can see, a passive preamp, as long as the matching isn't severe, shouldn't add anything at all and definitely shouldn't take anything away - Like others here and elsewhere, it comes as a bit of a shock to start with, but after a while to acclimatise, I'm going to find it very hard to go back to an active preamp (I've a Krell KSA50S coming and in a way, haven't a bleedin' clue what to drive it with, status wise - cough!)
I've got the same problem with 30 odd valves running last year - when it was really hot I was screwed...:)
Somehow last night's session was OK but about to start tonight's.
I think my Air Tight passive is better (scored on the Gon years ago and it saw years of use in my system) but it isn't much better and the cost difference is massive.
Hi Dave,
All my interconnects are 0.5m (I've always believed in keeping cables are short as possible), so no issues there :)Quote:
Originally Posted by DSJR
The Tissy is really just a bit of fun, and I'm sure will fulfil its intended role admirably.
Marco.
Well I was just going to revive this thread but you beat me too it. I had one before with an alps pot and we did not like it much but right now I am listening to a pretty holographic 3d and very very enjoyable stepped attentuator version which has been in the system for several weeks now
Full on bass and using 2 metre cables from rfc with no problems . it seems to suit the msb power amp rather well.of course it does not have quite the texture and realism of some valve amps but it punches well well above its price
Highly recommended if you are on a budget as I am currently
Nice one, Phil. It was the stepped attenuator bit that sold it to me, so pleased to know that makes a difference :)
Marco.
Yes not sure why but there is a very big difference . it might possibly be because I bought the alps one new and this stepped one was well run in and is pretty full bloodied . the bass is enough to keep my Mrs awake currently at 11pm!!!!
Cool. Like for like, I've always found steppers more accurate than pots - that's why I think they sound better :)
Marco.
I've used both and prefer stepped attenuators, but a TVC unit moves things forward vastly!
Like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raphaelite...item3ce8cd7d8e
using a tvc myself now and its very good... although I think one of the stepped vc's is faulty. May soon have to be replaced; might be a time to change it to a single double throw step vc rather than the current 2 separates.
They're not VCs, just rotary switches selecting tap positions on the transformers. You'll have to count the switching contacts and match them to a dual rotating switch. You could then use the spare control hole in the front panel for a rotary input selector dual switch. Probably two or three way depending on how much room for extra sockets you'd have on the back.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
If yours is playing up try a bit of switch cleaner.
yep, thats what i meant. dunno where you'd get good ones mind but if I do it it will likely not be me lol. I would need a soldering bolt better than my gas job. last one went o/s. probably best to get Ali or Alan to do it.... one of the channels went semi o/s today for a while. I actually thought one of my speakers had gone ......it was odd!! maybe a good clean may sort it if it happens again.
It's the first thing to try. I use this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Switch-Cle...item4198c40da4Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
Avoid the solvent types. They can dissolve plastic parts.
Also (as I'm sure you know), check soldered joints. Which could be a pain. As there are quite a few inside.
plumbed my tissie back in yesterday-moving back from active to passive.....sounds lovely and transparent,bass quality is very nice. Great piece of kit for reasonable money.
The stepped attenuator does seem to work really well.
There's a new version of the Tisbury passive pre out.
Knowing me to be a fan of the original, Wes at Tisbury sent me one to try out, I only sent it back to him today. :)
According to Wes ... "the new model is circuit board based rather than wired point to point, which does allow better control of signal paths and returns. That certainly won’t hurt the sound quality. Apart from that it’s mostly the same components."
I didn't have the original passive to hand, but based on audio memory the new one is a bit more transparent.
I disagree with Dave DSJR (a not unusual occurrence :eyebrows:), I find passive preamps sound different from each other.
I owned both the original Tissie and a Glasshouse Number 1 passive pre at the same time, the Glasshouse having a full-on stepped attenuator unlike the Tis which has a SMD stepped attenuator where consecutive resistors are summed, I think . I preferred the Tis and sold the Glasshouse - the Glassy one was a bit stark and unforgiving even for my preferences which tend to the forward / lively side.
The old Tis had just a touch of Golden Glow about it that made it a quite distinctive sound that I enjoyed a lot.
The new version has a touch more clarity and not as much of a Golden Glow, but it still has that characteristic to an extent.
Check out the Tisbury website -- http://www.tisburyaudio.co.uk/mini-passive-preamplifier
Copy and pasted from the site, the changes in the new version are ...
New Look, More Inputs and Outputs
Our second generation preamp now has 3 inputs, 2 configurable outputs and a laser engraved walnut + aluminium enclosure. The chassis is longer, more substantial and remains stable with heavy cables.
Selectable Fixed Attenuation
A new feature is the selectable attenuation, which allows you to reduce the signal by a fixed -10 dB or -20 dB. If your system has too much gain and you can't turn the volume dial past 12 o'clock without hearing damage, this setting will help.
Configurable Outputs
Output 1 is the primary output and its level is set by the volume control. Output 2 can be configured (by switches on the base) as either an additional primary output, or as a 'loop' out, to bypass the volume control and (you guessed it) loop out to another device.
____
Turn the wee beastie upsidedown and this surprising sight confronts you ....
http://www.tisburyaudio.co.uk/images...e-preamp-4.jpg
Dip switches to adjust the gain and configure the 2nd output socket pair. Cool - reminds me of the Trichord Dino phonostage which uses the same type of idea.
The front fascia looks neater too ...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q6N21zKJ0K...e-preamp-2.jpg
And to complete the 3D survey, here's the rear ...
http://www.tisburyaudio.co.uk/images...e-preamp-3.jpg
Price is still nicely low - at £129 you can't really argue, I don't think.
An excellent passive pre, imho. :thumbsup:
Hi Jerry,
Excellent pics and info mate - thanks for sharing :)
Just to pick up on this:
I can't dispute the fact that you found it more transparent, or that Wes considers the introduction of a PCB an improvement, but it's contrary to my own experience (with valve amps), where hard-wired, point to point, is best.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Indeed that (along with the stepped attenuator) is what sold me the idea of obtaining a Tissy! It should be here tomorrow, so will report my findings accordingly :cool:
Marco.
Their site says: "We must be notified of any fault within 7 days of receipt of the goods. If the customer rejects the faulty goods within 7 days then a full refund will be given, providing the goods are returned complete, in all original packaging and in a re-sellable condition. "Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
So the faulty good must be in a re-sellable condition!
Yep, I hear what you say, Marco! - I was a bit surprised myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
But I have to confess that since learning that probably my favourite "cone & dome in a box" loudspeaker, Leema Xaviers, have PCB based crossovers I've come to the conclusion that there are far more important aspects in a design! :)
Re-sellable "faultyness"? LOL.
I'm with Marco I like hardwired stuff. Whether it really is logical is another question. It may well be that I like the thought of something being handmade rather than stamped out, but my power amps, speaker crossovers and quite a bit of my DAC are done this way, and they all sound excellent to me.
Crosstalk between wires can and does happen though. Decent PCB layouts do prevent it.
Sure, in terms of the last bit, I'd agree. With something such as loudspeakers, you're listening to the cumulative effect of the SUM of the many parts used, and not to that of any individual parts (such as PCBs in crossovers). However, in something as basic and minimal as a passive preamp, the inclusion or lack thereof of a PCB, is liable to be more sonically significant.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Up until now, to my ears, PCBs, used in amps, have imposed a 'sonic signature' that I would consider as detrimental, compared with point-to-point wiring done well, which of course sometimes it isn't - and of course there are PCBs and PCBs. However, there's a valid reason why, for example, Glenn Croft won't entertain building his valve preamps any way other than hard-wired, and I feel that is also relevant in the case of the Tissy.
Anyway, that aside, I'm sure that both the old and new versions of the latter are excellent and offer superb SPPV, and so I'm very much looking forward to receiving mine and putting it through its paces! :cool:
Marco.
I like the idea of the attenuators having had to resort to something similar when using my DIY passive. Can also understand that adding this feature kind of necessitates using a PCB (no fun hardwiring DIP switches...)
Was very tempted by their previous incarnation but this is calling to me like a siren onto the rocks ... at that price it's irresistible
Many situations where gain is a problem with a passive, as Justin says, are going to be the other way around with too little overall system gain to reach desired sound levels. But with the plethora of horn speakers, for example, at 100dB/W+ sensitivity there could well be too much gain.
Also power amps with high input sensitivity - the excellent Leak Stereo 20 comes to mind, as well as other vintage amps -- when I had a Stereo 20 I always had to use those "attenuator in an RCA plug" doodads to keep the volume control setting sensible - the new Tisbury's -10dB or -20dB setting would sort that issue nicely.
Oops, I got the price wrong. :doh:Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Wes has just emailed me saying that it's £129.
I've corrected the original post.
Still cracking value, though. ;)
I'm waiting for a Penny & Giles plastic pot version. I'd buy it at quite a big premium, because I have it in my head they sound fab having had a passive containing them in the past.
I suspect an indefinite wait:D